The corridors of the compound were breathing.
Not literally, but that was how it always felt after returning from a mission—stone walls humming with leftover Aether, shadows longer than they should be, the lamps flickering with some silent excitement. The gang walked through the main hall, exhausted but loud in the way only people who had survived together could be.
Ayo complained first, dragging his spear against the floor.
"Bro… if that Siren had screamed one more time, I swear my head would have exploded."
Reina snorted. "Your head is empty already. What would she destroy?"
Kasai laughed so hard a spark flicked from his fingertips. Kaito shoved him before he set the curtains on fire. Sefu and Tariq argued somewhere behind them about who finished the Cyclops. Amara and Nia carried crates of relic fragments, whispering softly about their findings.
And in the middle of them, pretending not to be listening, was Kairo.
He walked quietly, but every sound in the hall seemed to bend around him. The Mark burned faintly on his chest, reacting to the lingering divine aura from the battle. He hid it with a fist pressed lightly to his sternum.
Lyssa noticed, of course. She always did.
"You good?" she asked softly, nudging him with her shoulder.
"Fine," Kairo lied.
But something felt wrong.
Something in the air.
Something… missing.
Or no—
Something present.
Too present.
They turned the corner that led to the central chamber where Sensei was usually waiting. Everyone slowed a little. Sensei was unpredictable—cold as frost, sharp as blades, and somehow colder when he smiled. Their relationship with him was a strange mix of respect and fear.
They pushed open the door—
—and stopped.
Someone was standing beside Sensei.
Barefoot.
Silent.
Smiling.
A boy with silver braided hair and two mismatched eyes—one gold, one pitch black. His skin was dark, his aura soft but heavy, like a hand pressed gently over a mouth to stop a scream. He looked fragile… but the room bent around him.
Everyone froze.
For a moment, no one breathed.
Then Ayo whispered, voice trembling with confused anger:
"Who… is that?"
Reina stared. "When did he get here?"
Kasai frowned. "Wait—was he always—"
Kaito shook his head. "No. No, I would've sensed him. I definitely would've sensed him."
Sefu rubbed his arms, suddenly cold. "Why does it feel like he's been here the whole time?"
Lyssa took a small step behind Kairo, instinctively seeking his presence. Even Tariq and Amara exchanged nervous looks. Nia clutched her staff.
All except Kairo.
His eyes narrowed.
Not in fear.
In recognition.
The Mark on his chest flared, hot and warning.
Sensei finally spoke, voice smooth and emotionless.
"Good. You're back."
No one answered.
Sensei gestured at the boy.
"This is Kael."
Kael tilted his head slightly, his faint smile never shifting. Those two strange eyes drifted across the group—Ayo, Reina, Kasai, Kaito… then finally landing on Kairo.
When their eyes met, Kairo felt something pry gently at his mind, like fingers testing the edge of a locked door.
Kairo crushed the feeling instantly.
Kael's smile widened by a fraction.
Reina was the first to snap. "Sensei… I've NEVER seen this guy. Where did he come from?"
Kasai added, "Bro, did he teleport past us? Is he invisible?"
Sensei's expression didn't change.
"He has been here since the beginning."
The room went silent.
Dead silent.
Everyone looked at Kael again.
Kael simply blinked… slowly, like a serpent.
Ayo stepped back. "Nah. No way. I've NEVER seen him. Not once."
"Of course you haven't," Sensei said.
Then he added with a chilling calm:
"Your minds are too weak to perceive him."
Kael bowed slightly at the insult, as if accepting a compliment.
Kaito clenched his fists. "How is that even possible?"
Sensei's voice lowered, almost amused.
"Kael carries a type of Aether your bodies reject. Your senses erase him before you can register what he is."
"What is he, then?" Kairo finally asked.
Sensei looked directly at him.
"My first hybrid."
The air sank, heavy and suffocating.
"He holds the essence of three—Hades, Anubis, and Eshu."
Shock rippled through the gang.
Triple bloodline?
That was impossible.
Three gods in one vessel?
Unheard of.
But Kairo felt something worse—a faint pull in his chest. The same kind of power that lived in him… twisted into something colder, darker. Kael's presence tugged at his Mark like a hook in flesh.
Kael stared at Kairo, eyes half-lidded, expression unreadable.
Then, softly, almost apologetically, he said:
"I've been watching you all along."
The room shivered.
Kairo's jaw tightened. "Why?"
Kael smiled wider.
"Because Sensei said you're special."
Kairo's heart slammed once, hard.
Sensei stepped forward.
"Enough. Kael will join your training from now on. You will treat him as you treat each other."
Everyone looked horrified.
Kael simply stood there, smiling faintly, his mismatched eyes shining like twin eclipses.
Kairo didn't smile.
He didn't blink.
Didn't look away.
Because something inside him whispered:
This boy knows something.
Something about the power that destroyed my family.
Something about Sensei.
And Kael—
still smiling—
whispered softly, though no one else heard:
"I remember your father."
Kairo froze.
Kael walked past him, quiet as a shadow.
The chapter ends with Kairo's Mark burning violently beneath his shirt…
and Kael's smile lingering like the scent of death.